ADVICE: Mastering your pitch

Sep 5, 2018

This guidance seeks to develop your confidence in pitching to investors by helping you to avoid the pitfalls and mistakes often heard and seen in business pitches and encourage you to think in the mind-set of a lender or investor.

There are typically 3 different types of business pitch:

The Introduction or “One-liner”

The Elevator Pitch

The Investment Pitch

Having the knowledge and ability to deliver a well-rehearsed and natural pitch in different scenarios can be an invaluable asset and one that is often overlooked by entrepreneurs. You should always make sure you clearly cover the key points below in all your communications:

What problem are you solving and how does your product or service solve it?

How do you take your product/service to market and how will it make money?

What’s in it for an investor? Why should they invest?

The introduction or “One-liner”
A short introduction and/or elevator pitch will often be required in various situations which may not necessarily relate to raising finance, for example at a networking event.

Although the shortest in length, ideally one or two sentences maximum, an effective introduction is often the hardest one to get right and it can affect your chances of making that important great first impression.

Top Tip: Have a number of introduction ‘scripts’ ready for different scenarios, e.g. networking, sales meetings, exhibitions, etc.

Elevator Pitch
The name Elevator pitch reflects the idea that it should be possible to deliver a summary of your business during an elevator ride from one level to another, typically a duration of no more than 1-2 minutes. It positions the scenario of an accidental meeting with someone important to your business in the elevator and if the conversation inside the elevator in those few minutes is interesting and engaging, the conversation will either continue after the elevator ride, or end in exchange of contact details and a follow up action.

Investment Pitch
At this point, you have successfully introduced your business, delivered your elevator pitch and you have now have been asked to present your business to an interested investor or panel of investors at a formal meeting. You now need to bring your business to life and provide further detail on it as a rewarding investment opportunity.

The key areas an investor will expect to learn about your business in your pitch are:

Business overview

Product/Service

Target market

Management team

Financial information

Funding Requirement

Exit

Top Tip: Your business is about far more than what you are selling; investors want to understand how your business makes money, not just how the product/service works.

An investment pitch should be supported by further detail within a documented business plan, which can be provided to interested investors after the pitch. It is also good to have a one-two page summary of your business available as a handout during or after your pitch too.

If you’re thinking about raising investment for your business and would like to understand your options, visit our website here for more information or get in touch to speak to our team today on 08081 722350 or drop us an email on: [email protected] and quote Venturefest.

About the author

Sarah Abrahams

Head of Growth FinanceGrant Thornton

Sarah leads Grant Thornton's national Growth Finance business, providing a range of support services to businesses seeking up to £10m in external finance and representing the firm in the early-stage investment community.